New project to support creatives who are Black People and People of Colour

Look Again is working with We Are Here Scotland, to address the lack of opportunities available to BPoC creatives in Scotland and is inviting creatives to submit ideas to deliver a fully funded exhibition in Aberdeen city centre next year.

There are two commissions available, and the successful practitioner will have the chance to host an exhibition in the Look Again Project Space in Aberdeen for 6 weeks between February to May next year.

Each of the selected creatives, who may be an individual practitioner, collective or artist group, will also have the chance to host a public talk or workshop in the Look Again Project Space to co-incide with the exhibition.

Hilary Nicol, Co-Director at Look Again said: “Look Again and Gray’s School of Art has an excellent reputation nationally for curating and commissioning work that supports the creative sector in the North East and across Scotland . We also provide high quality learning and engagement projects in visual arts and design as highlighted with our recent support of the recent multi-arts festival, Wonderland, led by Aberdeen Performing Arts.

“We regularly work closely with Aberdeen City Council through our Seed Fund commissioning programme, to support emerging artists and designers in the North East and and deliver a number of projects to support the economic, social and cultural development across Scotland.

“This new partnership will provide an opportunity for Look Again and We Are Here Scotland to come together to pool expertise, to put a spotlight on Aberdeen and the North East, and to deliver a programme of national significance that will support creatives who are Black People and People of Colour.”

We Are Here Scotland Founder, Ica Headlam who is an alumni from Look Again’s Creative Accelerator course and has set up the Aberdeen based clothing company ‘Big up the Deen’ and co-founded Big up the Doric’, will help support the project. Ica said: “I'm pleased that We Are Here Scotland and the Look Again Team are able to come together to provide this unique opportunity for Black People and People of Colour artists based in the North East of Scotland.

“Both organisations recognise that there still remains a need for to amplify the artistic talents that exist within the Black and PoC community. I'm looking forward to seeing how this collaborative project develops over the coming months and wish all applicants the best of luck throughout the selection process.”

Look Again is looking for initial ideas at this stage and will work closely with the selected practitioners to support the development, production and installation of their proposals. Artists will also be supported with PR and marketing for the final exhibitions and events.

Each of the projects selected will have a budget of £4000 to support their exhibitions and to cover fees, materials, production and installation costs.  

The brief is open, although the project team is interested in receiving place-based approaches that explore cultural and creative assets such as collections and archives, or projects that examine the built environment, history and heritage of the North East of Scotland.

We Are Here Scotland has made a substantial impact supporting the voices of Black People and People of Colour across Scotland over the past two years and highlights the need to develop new models of working to support a more diverse creative sector.

The project is supported by funding from Look Again's Seed Fund commissioning programme, that is supported by Aberdeen City Council, and aims to support emerging artists and designers, who have connections to the North East of Scotland.

To find out how to apply, artists and creatives should visit Look Again Aberdeen by Sunday 30 October at midnight.

Image shows We Are Here Scotland Founder, Ica Headlam, who is leading the project in partnership with the Look Again project team.